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Set up with Opies soft shackle last night---INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!
so maybe I'm missing all the enthusiasm about this method on the forum and am just overlooking everyone screaming about how utterly cool it is.
My tree huggers either have a sewn loop on each end or a sewn loop and a triangle (via Warbonnet)...go around tree and through the loop, other loop gets the soft shackle AND the end of the woopie sling. Done. No Marlin Spike Hitch to tie, no toggle to find or carry.
Is everyone aware of the simplicity of this and I'm just not reading every word of every thread?

As of a week ago, I've been using soft shackles in my UCR setup. I only use the diamond knot as I think the are superior. I believe Opie uses a double overhand, or some variation that uses a single strand of cord. The diamond knot should be close to the full strength of two strands of the cord. At least, much stronger than a single strand. I hope I'm not speaking unintelligently, but I do believe the diamond knot uses two strands as opposed to one, and therefore is much stronger. My only concern is that I think they might freeze in the colder weather.

Me neither. What's the purpose of the knotted loop? Does it come undone easily or something?

There is a loop under the knot and the knot prevents the loop from sliding off and opening the whole thing up. You cannot see the loop because the braiding is milked towards it to close it like the adjustable loop on a whoopie sling. To open it you hold the part of the loop that is buried and milk the braid around the bury away from the loop. When big enough just slip the knot through and it is open.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8qKc...layer_embedded

so I like these things, like making them, they have their place. But I have found them devilish hard to open when they are under load. I tried one for a while as a means of having a quick on/off with a ridgeline, but when the ridgeline has a little tension on it, it definitely was not a convenience.

Originally Posted by opie

It would probably be difficult to disengage a biner under tension too.

Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams

no, with a biner the gate is not under tension. I can open it with my thumb and then slide the biner off. The clinch loop is like the gate here.

Originally Posted by opie

OK... If you want to get technical...

I suppose the purpose of opening up a biner or shackle is to unhook it. Under tension its difficult to unhook a biner. So the ability to open the gate on a biner is pointless if you cant unhook it.

I will concede that the soft shackle isnt as easy to open as a biner.. But its also a fraction of the weight.

give and take.

This is the reason I exclusively use TeeDee's nacrabiner (soft shacke) variant that uses the scarab instead of the spliced loop. I find the scarab much easier to use than the spliced loop. The spliced loop always has a tendency to close which makes using it one handed problematic, frustrating and downright impossible at times. This is no problem with the scarab variant. The scarab variant is almost as easy to use one handed as a carabiner. Not quite, but close. The hard metal of the carabiner makes it easier to insert into a rope loop than the flexible nature of the narcabiner.

And, as with the wire gate carabiner I can slide the scarab even with the nacrabiner under tension, but as Opie says, why?